Rightware appoints new CEO

SAN FRANCISCO--User Interface firm Rightware, has appointed former Nokia vice president of N-Series, Jonas Geust, as CEO of the company effective Jan. 1.

Rightware, maker of the 3D UI platform for Audi, Qualcomm, Wikipad and Volvo, replaced the founder and current CEO, Tero Sarkkinen, moving him to a new role as president of U.S. operations.

Geust has been a member of the board of directors at Rightware since 2010. Previously, he spent over 15 years at Nokia, where he held a number of different roles, including his last, which was vice president of Nokia N-series smartphones.

Working out of Rightware’s headquarters in Finland, the firm said Geust would focus on scaling the company’s operations and engineering.

"This next phase of growth for the company expands on our vision of future of mobile computing and requires expansion of the companies footprint, especially in Silicon Valley and Asia," Geust told EE Times.

This is the first of a series of management changes and restructuring initiatives for Rightware, which also announced the appointment of Jussi Tammi to vice president of finance and Jari Selin as director of product development. Prior to joining Rightware, Selin served as Senior Engineering Manager at Nokia.

Rightware is currently on the second generation of its Kanzi UI development platform aimed at in-dash car infotainment system, with design wins at Audi and other leading car manufacturers.

The firm said it was looking to “expand aggressively” into new and emerging markets including, entertainment, mobile tablet, smart TVs and other embedded verticals.

Geust said he believed the future of mobile computing lay in the ability to embed integrated 2-D and 3-D experiences into any touch screen. He said this presented a challenge for the next generation of developers and designers who wanted to deliver “a consistent and sophisticated user experience” on any platform. Rightware, he said, was committed to making the transition smoother. “From the car dashboard to the tablet to mobile gaming, we can help companies drive a new level of user interface anywhere."

Geust noted that the consumer demand for 3-D already existed. “You can see it in Hollywood movies, and the ability to interact with any touchscreen is inherent UI for a whole generation of consumers,” he said, adding that it was time applications caught up to the trend and delivered the experience consumers had come to expect.